Defoe brushes off fitness worries

Defoe brushes off fitness worries

Published Sep. 8, 2010 9:57 a.m. ET

Jermain Defoe expects to be fit for Tottenham's clash at West Brom on Saturday after suffering a knock while on England duty.

The Spurs striker sustained an ankle injury and was stretchered off late on during the Three Lions' 3-1 Euro 2012 qualifying victory over Switzerland on Tuesday night.

But the 27-year-old is confident he will have regained full fitness in time for the trip to the Hawthorns.

When asked whether he would be available for the weekend's encounter, Defoe replied: "Yeah, definitely. I hope so.

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"I jarred my ankle or my knee but it feels alright.

"I've always said I'll do my best to make sure I'm out there.

"I've just got to rest it (the injury). I'll just keep icing it and I'm sure I'll be ok."

Defoe was satisfied with England's performance in Switzerland as they followed up Friday's 4-0 triumph over Bulgaria at Wembley.

"I think the movement in the first half was maybe better than the previous game," he added. "We did really well, the manager was really happy.

"The energy again was good. In the second half they blew up a bit in the first ten minutes but overall I think we were the better side."

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